The one I love most
by FerretEmpress
Summary: Lester/Waterlilly. Explains how Lester and his wife met and fell in love. May continue to present Primeval time, we'll see. Lots of fluff, sorry.
1. Textbooks and sketch books

**So this is the first chapter of my little Lester fanfic. I was so sad because a lot of the fanfic's about him are him and other characters, especially boys...kinda odd. Any who I decided to write something about his unseen wife. It starts off with how he met her and stuff, it may even continue to present Primeval time. I'm going to try and stick some other characters we know in here too. By the way, I don't own Primeval, or England for that matter. But Waterlilly is my own creation. There is a spot of language; I've never really put anything like that in my writing before so tell me if it's too excessive or something. Enough of me though. On to the story!**

* * *

She was perfect, well from what I saw. I didn't really understand what drew me to her, I was just attracted. Perhaps it was her curly blonde hair, or her bubbly personality. Whatever it was I liked it. Her name was Waterlily Marx, captain of the cheer leading team, which automatically meant she would never go out with me. I definitely was popular; it's hard not to be when you've been Head Boy (student body president as the Americans would call it) for 3 years in a row (it's been a long college career for me). I was a leader, a ruler, but I was also a nerd. I am not a techie, don't get the two confused. Books are my friends, computers are my enemies. However, that was the one glaring problem, the nerd factor. Cheerleaders didn't go out with nerds, no matter how popular they were. Girls like Lilly dated football stars (I'm talking about English football, not that American rubbish). Anyways, here I was, standing in the same science room as her, my heart pounding ferociously because we were completely alone.

I had talked to her a couple of times; it hadn't been over much, usually just homework related. She knew who I was, and I knew who she was, obviously. However, this would be much different; today I would finally have the courage to talk to her. I quietly walked over to her. She was sitting at a desk leaning over a textbook, her blonde curls cascading over her shoulder.

"Have you seen a science textbook in here?" I asked.

She jumped up "Oh, you frightened me." She said, voice quivering.

"I'm sorry." I said.

She waved her hand as if it was no problem. "Don't worry about it much. I'm just waiting for my science tutor to come. She's really late." She said.

She needed help with science; I was pretty good at science. "Well I'm decent at science. Perhaps I could be or assistance?" I informed her. "I mean if you'd rather wait for that tutor….." I trailed off.

"Ugh no, she's such a…well something I shouldn't say. I'd be happy to have your help." Waterlily smiled, her pretty green eyes shining.

"Well then Miss Marx."

"No, no don't call me that. What am I your teacher?" She said.

"Okay then, Waterlily."

She laughed. "Just call me Lilly."

I nodded "Lilly then. Let's get started. What's this, physics?"

* * *

I saw Lilly every Wednesday after that, and the more I saw her the more I liked her. I wanted to spend time more with her, but what was I to do? I certainly couldn't ask her out for a drink; we barely knew each other. Then one day I got the perfect opportunity.

"Lilly, since you're cheer leading captain, I was wondering if you could make some sort of routine for my campaign this summer." I asked her.

"I'd love to!" she said sweetly. "I'll get the girls together; they'd love to do something for you." She exclaimed. "You know that's such a great way to include the students, it will make your campaign so much stronger. You'll win for sure!" Lilly squealed.

I gave a small laugh. "Thank you, but I do have some real competition this year. Her name is Christine Johnson." I informed her. Last year I had beat Oliver Leek into the dust. But this year Christine Johnson, my arch nemesis, had stepped up to the podium. She always had it out for me, ever since we were kids.

"No way, I won't let that bitch beat you!" Lilly yelled.

I sat up in my chair, Lilly had never sworn in front of me. I did, but I hadn't thought that she did. She seemed so innocent.

"Sorry about that. I just hate her so much. She was that tutor I had. There's no way I'll let her beat you." Lilly explained.

It felt good to have her on my side. "I could make some campaign posters!" she suddenly yelled, leaping out of her chair. "I'm a really good artist so I can totally paint you some! It will be original and so different from the printed stuff everyone always does. Come over to my flat and I can draw you up something." She exclaimed.

Her flat, that sure was sudden. I mean it wasn't common to invite your acquaintances to your flat. But then again, this was spontaneous Lilly we were talking about.

* * *

Lilly's flat wasn't anything like mine, just as I had expected it to be. It was decorated with swirls of color and flowery pictures. "So this is my art studio. I have some albums filled with designs. You can pick from there or you can get me to make you one of your own." She said, dumping her coat on the deacon's bench and heading into the kitchen. "You thirsty?" she called out.

"Yes I am actually very thirsty." I answered.

"Well we've got coffee, don't drink the stuff but I keep it around for the guests. We've also got soda, juice, milk. What's your poison?"

"I'll take a soda." I called, flipping through an album. She really was a good artist. She had drawn this really neat block lettering, sort of graffiti like, very cool.

"So, see anything you like?" she asked, handing me the cold can.

"Yes, I like this one." I said pointing to it.

"Figure's you'd like this one; it's a good one. You've got such good taste." She said scooping up the book and heading down the hall and turned into what I thought was her bedroom. She flopped down on her bed and I stood awkwardly in the doorway. She looked up and saw me standing there. "Come on, don't be shy. Sit down." She said and patted the spot beside her. I flushed up and had to resort to sitting on one of those beanbag chairs she had on her floor. I just couldn't bring myself to be in that close of a proximity to her.

"So have you thought of what colors you want?" she asked. I shook my head "These are just my thoughts so you don't have to go with this, but I was thinking purple and blue, or purple and green, teal maybe?" she suggested.

"Why purple?" I inquired. Lilly leaned back on her pillow "Well purple's sort of a royal and powerful color. James Peregrine Lester, sounds regal right? I think it would look great." She explained. She turned on her stomach and began to to hum as she sketched.

Now was the time, if I could compete with the likes of Christine in the dangerous world of politics, why couldn't I ask a girl to go out for a drink?

It seemed like I listened to her humming for hours until she sat up and said. "It's done." She showed me a small sketch. It said in sloping block letters _Vote James Peregrine Lester. Vote for the king. _"Nicely done." I congratulated. She smiled. "Anything to beat out Christine."

I fiddled with my jacket. "Perhaps we could discuss this campaign over a glass of sherry?" I said in a tone I hoped sounded confident. A small unsure smile flickered across Lilly's face. "Yes James, I would love to have a drink with you." She replied softly. The drink we had that night would be one of many, I didn't regret that decision.

* * *

**This is my first fanfic, and yes, yes I know, this chapter is kind of short. But do not fret little kiddies; I have a lot more to come. Thank you for reading and review it if you wouldn't mind.**


	2. Blushes of purple, pink, and red

**Welcome back kiddies. I hope you enjoy the next chapter of my little Lester fanfic. I've been working really hard on this chapter, and I think it's pretty cute. Oh and Christine makes her appearance,**** boo! Remember that I do not own Primeval. Read on and review.**

* * *

**"**So James, I was just wondering if you were going to wear anything special for the speech?" she asked and then took a tiny sip of sherry.

"Oh yes, I was thinking the purple shirt would go nicely under my new suit." I stated. I had just as many neatly pressed suits as Lilly had miniskirts.

"Very posh, very nice touch." She agreed. Lilly paused to take another sip of sherry. "So are you planning to take anyone to the election dance?" she asked. I looked up from my glass.

"Well no, I didn't have anyone in mind." I answered. "Are you going with anyone?" I questioned.

Lilly looked away "Well Jack is going to want me to go with him. He gets very jealous about these things." She answered sadly.

The smile was wiped off my face immediately. I completely forgot about that boyfriend of hers. "If he makes you so miserable, then why not break it off?" I asked.

She sighed "Love to, but I can't. He'd freak out, and I don't know what he'd do to me." She said.

"What are you saying?" I asked her. "It's not like he means it, but he can be a bit rough sometimes." She said. My mouth gaped open. "You mean he hits you?" She nodded feebly. "Not very hard, most times. It just might get worse if I were to make him mad." She explained.

"Bastard." I swore under my breath. "I'd like to see him attempt to touch you with those filthy mitts of his." I growled. Lilly's eyes flashed open. "Don't even think about fighting him! He could hurt you terribly James." Lilly cried.

"Just let him try." I said getting up from the table. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Cheerio Lilly." I said and gave her cheek a slight kiss.

That decision would be one I would regret because there at a corner booth sat Lilly's boyfriend Jack.

* * *

After that day, Jack Wellington kept a tight grip on Lilly. He wouldn't even let her come to me for tutoring. Christine came up to me one day with a smirk on her face.

"Where's that miniskirt wearing, pompom flinging Barbie doll that's doubling as your campaign manager?" she asked snottily.

"Oh she's around here somewhere." I answered. I really didn't know where she was, and for all I knew she wasn't even at school. "Don't tell me you want to kidnap her and force her to be your campaign manager. Christine, how diabolical of you." I added. Christine rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Hopefully nothing bad has happened to her." She said and turned on her heel."Oh and you might want to check behind the equipment shed. The Laurels are lovely this time of the year." Christine added over her shoulder.

* * *

I ran over to the other side of campus to find that Lilly was there, hidden under the Laurel bushes, crying her eyes out. I walked over to her and squatted down beside her.

"Hey, what's with the water works?" I asked. Her head shot up and her face softened when she saw me.

"I did it James; I told Jack I didn't want to date him anymore." She sniffed.

I ducked down into the bushes to sit beside her. "Well that's good right? You're rid of the dirty bastard now." I encouraged, rubbing my hand between her shoulder blades. She gave me a tiny smile, but it faded quickly.

"He said he'd get back at me some day, that I'd regret dumping him." She sobbed.

"That's just his anger talking." I reassured her. Tears raked her body.

"It's the anger that I'm afraid of." She cried.

Her head gently found its way to my chest, and she wrapped her arms around my torso. I awkwardly placed my arms around her waist; this sort of thing was new to me. Girls had been attracted to me but most of them were looking for a one-night stand. My life ran similarly to the business world and as far as I was concerned, a one-night fling was not good business. If I was going to invest it needed to be in something credible. So as you could guess things had never come to a girl crying her eyes out into my Armani suite, well unless if she had been drunk.

"If he tries to do anything to you Miss Marx; you can count on me to gladly kick his unworthy ass." I reassured her. She looked up at me with shimmery eyes.

"You would do that for me?" she asked in a small voice. I put my chin on her head. "Of course, anything for my dearest campaign manager." I said. Lilly's tears slowed until she had calmed down completely. "Thank you James." She breathed into my shirt.

I pulled her up from under the bushes. "Come now, we still have a lot of work to do for the campaign. I suggest we go back to your flat. You can get dressed, and then we can go out for a nice little chat." I told her. She nodded and sniffled a bit.

"Sorry for getting snot all over your suite." She apologized. "Don't worry about it." I laughed.

* * *

"So have you started writing your speech yet?" Lilly called from her bedroom.

"Yes, I kept the one from last year. I thought I'd just"

"Don't do it." She warned.

"You just cut me off. How do you even know what I was going to say?" I asked.

"If you keep the same speech and just change a few words here and there people will think you're lazy. You're simply going to have to write a new one." Lilly informed me.

I sighed; she was right again.

"Why do they make these things so hard to do up?" I heard her whisper. I flushed up. I couldn't see anything, but I could imagine what she was talking about.

I picked up one of her sketch books and started to flip through it. There were some pictures of people or animals, but it was mostly designs. I picked up a smaller one, and as I flipped through I could see this one was different. There were a lot more hearts and flowers.

I went to turn the page when there was a loud scream from Lilly's room. I dropped the sketch book and ran down the hall.

"Lilly!" I cried as I ran to her door and flung the door open. I caught a brief glimpse of her before Lilly shrieked and slammed the door in my face.

"Sorry. I'm fine; there was just this big spider. I hate those things." Her muffled voice said. "I'll be out in a minute."

Feeling totally embarrassed I walked back to her kitchen and stuck my head in the fridge to look for a soda. I almost walked in on her half naked. Smooth James, really smooth.

I could hear her high heels clicking into the room. "So are you ready to go?" she asked as she put an earring in. I turned around trying not to go red. She didn't seem fazed by what had transpired, so why should I be?

"Yes, I am ready to go." I answered, nervously smoothing my pants.

She spied the album that I had dropped on the floor. "How'd this get down here?" she asked me. "Oh I was looking at it." I answered. "You were?" she asked, sounding almost frightened. Lilly quickly put the album under a pile of papers and books. "Well let's go." She said.

* * *

"Are you nervous about the speeches?" Lilly asked. I shook my head. "I think that I've got this in the bag. And it's all thanks to you." I said tipping my glass to her. She smiled and took a drink of her sherry.

"So, now that you've kicked Jack to the curb, are you going to go with anyone to the dance?" I asked. She looked up with those green eyes. "Well maybe. It all depends on who's asking me to go with them." She answered.

"Well I'm not going with anyone, and we are a team, so it only makes sense that we should go together." I suggested. Lilly smiled lightly. "Yes I suppose that we could go together." She said, staring shyly into her glass of sherry, occasionally glancing up at me.

There was a slight awkward pause as we both tried to think of something to say. "So uh do you have any family?" She asked me. I nodded "Three sisters and two brothers, all older." "Explains why you're very good at convincing people." She laughed. "What about you?" I asked her. She shook her head "I'm an only child. My parents live in Bristol." She answered.

"Why aren't you going to school there then?" I asked. "My aunt's an artist, so I came here so she could teach me a thing or two." Lilly explained. My brow furrowed in confusion. "But then why do you bother coming to school? Why not just stay at home and learn art?" I said. "I figured I should get another job, like a secretary, just so I can have a stable income." She said before lifting the glass to her lips.

"What'd you want to be?" she asked me. "I was thinking of working in the Home Office, Government stuff you know." I replied. She laughed. "Perfect for you. Maybe you could be the head of the national science department." I gave a small chuckle. "Yes, and with my luck, I'd get stuck with a bunch of juvenile employees who continuously get themselves into trouble."

Our laughter subsided and yet again awkward silence crept between us. "I'm ready for you to take me home now." She said.

My face showed no emotion, but I felt like I had been stabbed in the heart. "It's just that I have an art convention to go to tomorrow, so I have to get up early." She explained. I sighed quietly, so she wasn't just trying to get rid of me.

I got up and helped her into her jacket. "Your Jaguar awaits Miss Marx." I joked. She laughed heartily. "Lead the way good sir." She said with a sweeping gesture.

* * *

Lilly hadn't turned on all the lights in her flat, so I sat in semi darkness. I could see shadows darting across the glow from the light in Lilly's room.

"I'm sorry; I'll just be a minute. I have the posters here somewhere." She called to me. "You can come to the room and get them if you want." She said.

"I can't really see; it's too dark." I retorted.

She paused. "Oh yea, that's right. I'll come over to you." She said.

I waited to hear her come padding down the hallway, but I didn't hear a thing.

Without warning I was knocked to the ground. "I'm sorry James!" Lilly apologized. "That's okay." I answered breathlessly. "It would really help though if you could get your elbow out of my stomach." I weakly added. Lilly scrambled off of me and flicked on the lights. I couldn't help but remember that awkward moment in her flat earlier today.

"Here are the posters." She said and thrust them into my hands. "I suppose I should be going then." I said. "Yes, I suppose you should." She replied. "Good-bye then." "Good-bye James." She said opening the door for me. I headed out the door. "See you tomorrow." She waved. I waved back "Yes; I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

**Well children, that's all for this chapter. I'd love to know what you think. Until next time! **

**P.S. There might be a little violence in the next segment, but don't worry your pretty little heads, no one dies, yet Mwahaha... just kidding.**


	3. Going out with a bang

**Welcome back kiddies. I hope that you all are as excited for this next segment as I am! On with the story!**

* * *

I smoothed out my poster and stood back. Lilly really had made the poster professional looking.

"Well now, the circus has come to town." Christine sneered.

"And you're the ringleader." I shot back.

"I will push you off your throne James, and you will have to obey my every whim." Christine said getting in my face.

"You know what Christine; you can tell that to yourself when you're curled up in your action man pajamas in your mother's basement, but in end it will be you who is groveling at my feet." I retorted. Fire brimmed in Christine's eyes.

"We will see James, we will see." She said and stalked away. I turned around only to see Jack Wellington's face in mine.

"Lilly made that for you didn't she?" he asked.

"Yes, and what of it? She's a good artist so I asked her to do up some posters for me." I shrugged and turned back to the poster.

"You watch yourself, Lilly's my girl." Jack growled.

"Welly, how about you use your last brain cell to figure out that Lilly dropped you like an atomic bomb. She doesn't belong to anyone, especially not you." I informed him. Jocks, they're always so possessive. Wellington was practically rupturing a blood vessel beside me, puffing like an angered bull.

"It was you wasn't it? You took Lilly away from me. It was you at the bar last week wasn't it?" he asked, his eyes flashing intensely.

"It was just a glass of sherry; she is after all my campaign manager." I said nonchalantly.

"You better watch yourself Lester." Jack spat, shoving his finger into my chest. I shook my head and walked away from the fuming football player.

* * *

It was around 3rd period when I heard the sound of something being slammed against metal. I swiveled around to see Jack pinning Lilly against a locker.

"You're not going to dump me!" he yelled, shaking Lilly by the shoulders.

"Leave me alone! I'm not your girlfriend anymore!" she yelled, trying to twist out of his grasp. People began to crowd around her.

"You're mine Lilly; nobody's going to take you away from me!" Jake screamed.

"Let me go!" Lilly shrieked. I pushed my way through the crowd and slapped Jack's hands away.

"Leave her alone." I said, my eyes burning. Jack grabbed Lilly's hands again.

"She's mine and I'll do anything I like!" Jack said and spat in my face. I wiped his spit off of my face and glared at him.

"Leave her alone Damn it!" I growled and without thinking I threw my fist full throttle into his face. I had involuntarily gone with my instincts, which in this case was a very bad decision.

"You're going to regret that Pansy." Jack sneered. He tossed Lilly aside and then smashed his shoulder into my chest. We tumbled to the ground clawing and punching at each other. His fist bounced off of my chin with a loud crack. In desperation I jabbed my knee into his groin. There was a moment's pause as he gasped through the pain. I took that moment to catapult him off of me with a swift push of my feet in his stomach. I crawled on top of him and didn't hesitate to put my full force in a punch to his nose. He grasped my arms, trying to stop me from beating the snot out of him.

"What in the hell's going on here?" a teacher yelled. Students began to account what had gone on. The teacher and someone else pulled us apart and restrained us.

"James Lester, what is the meaning of this-this appalling behavior?" barked the other person, who turned out to be head master.

"He was rescuing me sir." Lilly shouted. She stood up to address the crowd. "Jack Wellington was shaking me violently and was most likely going to hit me when our brave head boy, James Lester, stepped in. When Wellington refused to stop abusing me Lester realized that the only way to keep a fellow student from harm was to transfer Wellington's anger from me to himself, regrettably, by using force. James Lester took every blow from Wellington like a true gentleman in order to protect me. James Lester is not the problem here, Jack is!" she explained. The students cheered, Lilly was a good public speaker.

There was a silent and tense pause as the head master thought up a punishment. I just hoped it wasn't for me.

"I suppose, considering the situation, that Wellington must be suspended." The headmaster said. Wellington glared at me, when he got back he wasn't going to waste his time whining. No he was going to find a way to get back at me, or worse, Lilly. Jack was immediately escorted from the school to spend his week off of school property.

"James, James, James!" a student began to chant, and the others joined him. "The king has spoken!" They yelled.

* * *

Lilly pulled me out of the fray and down to the nurse's office. "Nice speech, maybe you should write one for me." I said.

Lilly laughed "I do what I have to, but that doesn't mean I will write your speech for you Mr. Lazybones." She sat me down on the cot and looked at me. "That really wasn't a smart idea, but I will say I am proud of you." She said.

"It sure has made me popular." I laughed, stopping quickly as a pain swelled in my chest.

"You have a nice bruise on your cheek there." She said staring at my face.

"I have a whopping headache." I added. Without warning she pressed her lips to my forehead, then to my cheek. Warmth flowed through my face and I stared at her with a slight smile on my face processing what had happened and what I was going to do about this.

"I have a split lip, if that matters." I muttered. Her lips hovered above mine, she was most likely afraid. I began to pull her closer and she held her breath in anticipation.

"Well now look at this. Is the hero trying to collect an undeserving kiss?" Christine sneered. Lilly stepped away from me as Christine pushed herself between us. "The little stunt you pulled just might cost me the election James. I'm going to make sure that I expose your little brawl as a set up." Christine informed me.

"You won't be able to do that Christine. No one will believe you." I said and slowly got up from the cot.

"Yes I can. A few witnesses, a couple twisted words, plus the fact that you've been seen with my enemy's girlfriend and voila, instant win." She explained. Lilly snorted and crossed her arms.

"Like I said Christine, if it's not the truth people won't believe you." I reminded her. She placed one hand on the wall behind me and the other on her hip. As she leaned towards me the noxious smell of her perfume wafted over me. Her overpowering mix of makeup and perfume could be used in the war as a knock out gas or something.

"It doesn't have to be the truth, it just has to be convincing." She said to me, her red lips parted in a smile. She pushed herself off of the wall and stood back to face us. "See you in the papers James." She waved her claw like nails at us and sauntered out of the room. Lilly turned to me, our romantic moment forgotten.

"What are we going to do?" she asked. A smile spread across my face.

"I know exactly what we are going to do, and I'm going to need your help."

* * *

Colton Kurt was the only person in the school who knew how to run the old printing machine, so if Christine was going to have something printed she'd have to go through him. Colton never left the door unlocked, never put the key down or gave it to anyone. There was no other way that Christine could get in. And even if she got it printed somewhere else it had to have a special symbol Colton had hid somewhere on the paper before it got put on the stand. This was so that not just any idiot could print something for the school. Colton would be extra careful during election season, and that's where Lilly came in.

* * *

"I feel terrible about this James. Is this really a good idea?" Lilly asked.

"All you have to do is get Colton not to print the story for Christine. How you do that is up to you." I told her.

"It still doesn't feel right." Lilly sighed.

"Well he's coming down the hall." I said. Lilly turned around and took a deep breath before she skipped down the hall towards him.

"Hey Kurt, can I talk you for a sec?" she asked.

"Well sure." Colton shrugged. Lilly latched onto his arm.

"Super! So here it goes, I was just wondering if you wanted to go out for a drink tonight, or something like that." Lilly giggled.

"Well sure." Colton shrugged.

That was it, our plan was going work.

* * *

The past few days Lilly had been hanging off Colton's arm. Even though it was an act it actually made me jealous. I just hoped that Lilly could convince Colton not to print Christine's story. At this moment they were laughing about something funny Colton had said. I was just awkwardly sitting at the same table. We were supposed to be hanging out, but it was really just the two flirting.

"Oh Colton, you're so funny!" Lilly giggled. Yeah, chicken jokes, real funny. Kurt turned to me and suddenly asked me a question.

"So Lester, how's the election going?"

"Um, it's going well. Christine's been hounding me a lot, but I just ignore it." I replied. Colton nodded.

"She's like that isn't she." he shivered.

"Oh Colton, it's terrible, really it is. Poor James doesn't want to complain, but Christine has been making nasty threats. She'd do anything to stop James from winning. She'd even try to print something that wasn't true, something that would take James out of the running. Oh please Colton say you won't do anything to help Christine, promise me you won't!" Lilly pleaded, clinging to Colton's arm. She was putting on the act again, and I hoped that Colton would fall for it.

"Don't worry Lilly. I don't like Christine either, I wouldn't want to help her with her campaign anyway." he said. Lilly squealed in delight and clapped her hands.

"You're the best Colton!" she said gleefully and bear hugged him. I winked at Lilly. As much as I hated the flirting, at least she got us what we needed.

* * *

"Do you think that you could come over to my flat and listen to my speech?" I asked Lilly, after her cheerleading practice one day.

"Oh I'm sorry James but Colton and I are going out for dinner tonight." she apologised.

"Why are you still hanging out with him?" I asked.

"Well, we don't want him to back out on us do we? So I figured I could still be friendly." she said. I groaned, she was right, but there was a fine line between being friendly and shamelessly flirting with someone.

"Yeah, whatever." I said. Lilly glanced over at me.

"You're not jealous are you James?" she asked.

"What the hell kind of a question is that?" I asked, trying not to let on that she was right. Lilly giggled.

"You are jealous!"

"No I am not! I don't care if you go out with Colton Kurt! I could care less even if you went out with Christine!" I shot back. "I-I just don't want you quitting on me. You're my campaign manager." I added.

"Okay then." Lilly snickered. "But I promise I'll listen to it later." she said. I was practically kicking myself. Why hadn't I just said it? Who cares if she knew I loved her? But that's the way I am. I can't express myself. Lilly was never going to understand how I felt about her.

* * *

The nest morning I was standing outside of my third period class waiting for the teacher to come unlock the door.

"James, James! It's horrible, you must come quickly!" Lilly yelled as she ran down the hall towards me.

"What's wrong Lilly?" I asked her. She took a moment to catch her breath.

"I just saw Colton Kurt letting Christine into his office! His printing office! He's going to print something for Christine!" She exclaimed.

"He's going to print Christine's story?" I echoed.

"Come on, we've got to stop him!" she said, grabbing my wrist and pulling me towards Kurt's printing office.

* * *

We arrived just in time to see Colton and Christine stepping out of the printing office. "Colton Kurt! I thought you promised me you wouldn't print anything for Christine!" Lilly shrieked. Colton chuckled.

"You obviously don't know when you've been double crossed songbird." he said. Christine sauntered up to me.

"Who has the upper hand now James?" she said. I growled, why she always had to be so-so annoying!

"Go overdose on printer ink Christine!" I shot back. She tossed a paper my way and I frantically caught it.

"There's a really superb article I figured you'd like to read before the paper goes out tomorrow." she laughed and walked away with Colton.

"Blast, she always seems to get one step ahead of me!" I said. I was so frustrated. Christine was always such a thorn in my side; she just wouldn't stop until she had ruined my life.

"She just can't beat you, she-she can't!" Lilly yelled. "She can't, right?" she added in a smaller voice. I turned away from her. "We have a plan, don't we?"

"What can we do now? Christine will get her false story out, there's no way we can convince Kurt to print something else. There's nothing we can do." I said sadly. Lilly looked downcast.

"We can't give up now." she said. I sighed.

"Sometimes you have to cut your losses." I replied. Lilly's face scrunched up and she grabbed my suit collar.

"I promised you that I wouldn't let that backstabbing, conniving little snake beat you. I don't break my promises James, I'm not giving up. You can if you like, but I'm not." she stated and then walked away.

She was right, she was always right. But what could I do? Colton Kurt was going to spread Christine's fake story to the whole school and then no one would vote for me. Even those who had dutifully put my name down each year would turn on me like the rest of the flock like student body. At least I'd be remembered for years to come.

Kids would say _"Do you remember that Head boy we once had, James Lester?" "That Lester guy who staged that fight and lost his title, breaking his three year reign?" "Yeah, that's the one!"_

I looked down at the newspaper in my hand. There on the front page, in blaring bold letters was a headline that read **_The King's fight with Welly uncovered as a scam! Christine Johnson tells all. _**

I read on.

_"It's sad to think that someone so famous, someone we all trusted would have the nerve to cheat like this. I never had a chance, and he knew it. It was so unnecessary for him to stoop to such a thing as staging a fight. The only thing we can do now is order him to forfeit in the election. I really didn't want to win like this." Christine Johnson told the school paper. _

I stopped; I couldn't bear to read anymore. She was going to lose, and she knew it. So of course, in common Christine style, she had to go to lower depths to get what she wanted. I'd probably never be able to run for head boy again. And that's just what she wanted, that's what she'd always wanted. All through our grade school days I had beaten her in everything. Spelling, Math, Sports, you name it, I was better than her. She always came in second; she was always being told she should try to be more like me. I suppose that's why she's the way she is. I guess it's a bit of karma or something coming back to me, not that I felt that I deserved it. There's always someone who's going to be better than you, it's all in how you take it. I never had that problem in school, unless if we were talking about computers, those were a whole different story. It was when I came home that I felt inferior. Three older brothers and two older sisters, all ordering me around, all criticizing everything I did. And for my parents nothing I did, not any awards I received, or medals I won, not a mark on a test or a good report card, was ever good enough for them. To this day, even if I was knighted by the Queen of England herself, they would not be proud of me. And now, after all of my success, I was going to become a failure, in everyone's eyes. I didn't know what I was going to do with myself.

* * *

I was surprised really, when I came to school I had expected to see hoards of angry students ready to burn me at the stake like a witch. But there was nothing, I didn't get one single evil glare, not one "accidental" shove. I passed the newsstand and I tried not to look at it. I couldn't bear to see all those papers, and all those people reading all those lies. I trudged to my locker and rested my head against the cool metal. I just wished I could melt into the floor.

"James! James! You have to see this!" I turned to see Lilly running up to me. She was holding a newspaper in her hand.

"I've already read it Lilly, I'd rather not read it again." I sighed. She stood beside me breathless and smiling.

"No, look at it! Colton changed it; he didn't print the story for Christine!" I looked at her, confused.

"What'd you mean?"

"Well Colton must have double crossed her. He made her think that he was helping her, but really he was gathering information to print this story, now look!" Lilly explained, shoving the newspaper into my hands. I looked down to the paper in my hand.

_Rivalry during election season._

I kept on reading.

_Christine Johnson has been ferociously fighting for the head position against our current head boy, James Lester. She has been known to say "I would do anything to beat that (censored). For once I will show him who is the best!" She seems very determined to win and is a very fierce competitor. When asked exactly what she would do to win she replied "Cheat, lie, and steal. Anything to grab that title." So far she has not done anything that would put her out of the running, but who knows what she has up her sleeve. We'll just have to wait until Election Day to see who comes out the winner. In my opinion, I hope its James Lester. Vote for the King._

A smile broke out on my face as I read that last sentence.

"He was on our side all along." Lilly smiled. I crushed her in a gleeful bear hug.

"I can win this election!" I said excitedly.

"Of course you can. I always knew you could." Lilly said warmly, not retreating from the hug. I pulled back so I could see her face.

"Thanks for believing in me Lilly. You're the best campaign manager I've ever had." I said. Lilly gave a small laugh and looked down shyly.

"That wouldn't have to do anything with the fact that I'm the prettiest campaign manager you've ever had?" She asked.

I raised my eyebrows "Oh of course not." I said sarcastically. Lilly looked up at me, a sweet little smile on her face. Her cheeks had turned a bit pink. I realized that she had let go, and I was still holding onto her. I released her with a nervous laugh.

"You want to go out for a celebratory drink or something?" She asked in a small voice.

"What do you think Miss Marx?" I questioned.

"I'll take that as a yes." She said.

I laughed "I certainly hope you wouldn't take that as a no." Lilly shook her head in amusement.

"You're a funny one James Lester." she giggled, her emerald eyes sparkling with something more than laughter.

* * *

**Well there you go. That's chapter 3 for you. There was a lot in of stuff I had to put into that one that one. I know that Christine looks like she's out of the picture, but don't worry, Christine's not done. Neither is Jack for that matter either, he's still going to chase after Lilly. And it does seem that Lilly is starting to like our dear James Peregrine Lester, doesn't it? I don't see why she wouldn't. Wish me luck for writing chapter 4; I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to connect everything. OH NO! It's the episode 4 syndrome (sorry, inside joke for those who know me) Think brain, think! Toodles children.**


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